Clean-out appliance.



PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908. J. & J. W. BUGKLEY.

CLEAN-OUT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.16,1907.

'W I TNESSES 1n: NORRIS PETERS co., wnsnmanu, n. a

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BUOKLEY, OF EVERETT, AND JOSEPH W. 'BUOKLEY, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLEAN-OUT APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 9, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN BUCKLEY, of Everett, in the county of Middlesex, and JOSEPH W. BUCKLEY, of Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk, both in the State of Massachusetts, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clean-Out Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to appliances for permitting access to the interiors of pipes in systems of plumbing, and is embodied in a hand-hole frame or bushing adapted to be calked into the hubs of pipes, or otherwise secured thereto, to form a hand hole and outlet, and a cover adapted to close the said hand hole.

The invention has for its object to enable the cover to be firmly secured in its operative position against any possibility of accidental release and displacement, and in such manner that it may be. readily released and removed without the use of tools and with the minimum resistance.

The invention consists in the improvements which we will now proceedto describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specifloation,Figure 1 represents a sectional view of a clean-out appliance embodying our invention, portions of the cover-securing mechanism being shown in side elevation, the levers being shown released and unlocked. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of an appliance of the construction represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the levers locked.

The same letters ofreference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out our invention, we provide a hand-hole frame which surrounds an opening adapted to serve both as a hand-hole and an outlet through which matter may be removed from the interior of a pipe into which the frame or bushing is inserted. The frame or bushing, which we will hereinafter refer to as the hand-hole frame, is preferably of annular form, and is adapted to be calked into the hub of a pipe, or otherwise secured to a pipe, to serve as the wall of a clean-out opening. In the present embodiment of the invention, the hand-hole frame is composed of sections A and B, the section A being a short length of cylindrical pipe having an external screw thread at one end portion, while the section B is a ring internally threaded to engage the external thread of the section A, and provided with an inwardly-projecting flange B, which serves as a cover seat, and as the wall of a hand-hole. The two sections A and .B are screwed together, the inner end of the section A forming an annular inwardly-projecting shoulder or abutment A which overhangs the flange B, and is separated from the latter by a recess B.

O represents a cover, which is preferably somewhat cupped or dished, as shown in Fig. 1, and has a marginal flange adapted to bear upon the cover seat, and form a tight joint therewith. The cover is provided with a plurality of abutment-engaging members, which are adapted to project into the recess B and to be moved away from the cover and its seat, and pressed against the abutment A in such manner as to press the cover against its seat, the cover being provided with means for pressing the said members against the abutment, and for locking them to hold the cover against its seat. The said members are also adapted to be retracted or moved outwardly from the recess, and from engagement with theabutment, to permit the ready removal of the cover from its seat, and from the hand-hole frame. The abutment-engaging members are in this embodiment of our invention, the shorter arms of levers E E which are fulcrumed at E E to ears D formed on the cover, the said. shorter arms being adapted to project outwardly into the recess B and to be moved in said recess away from the cover, against the abutment A, by power applied to the longer arms of the levers. The said longer and shorter arms are arranged to form angular or bell crank levers, the longer arms standing at an angle of about 90 degrees to the shorter arms. Said longer arms project inwardly toward the central portion of the cover, and are connected. at their end portions with means for applying pressure to the longer arms in the directions required to force the shorter arms against the abutment. We here show, as the preferred means for this purpose, a toggle, the links or members of which are jointed together at their meeting ends, and are jointed at their outer ends to the longer arms of the levers E, the arrangement being such that when the toggle is broken by the movement of its members out of alinement with each other, the shorter arms of the levers E will be withdrawn from engagement with the abutment A as shown in Fig. 1, and when the toggle is set by the movement of its members into alinement with each other, or to a position where the pivot of the meeting ends is moved slightly past a line drawn between the pivots of the outer ends as shown in Fig. 3, the said members will force the longer arms of the levers outwardly from the center of the cover, and will force the shorter arms against the abutment, and thus cause pressure of the cover against its seat. The toggle when in the position last described, locks the levers so that they cannot be moved until the toggle is again contracted or broken.

The preferred construction of the toggle is as follows: F represents a bifurcated toggle link, which is pivoted at F to the longer arm of one of the levers E. G represents a nut which is located between the arms of the bifurcated link F, and is ivotally connected thereto by pivot screws J. H and I re resent the sections of an adjustable link w 'ch connects the .nut G with the longer arm of the opposite lever E. The section H is a short bolt having an external screw thread engaged with the internal thread of the nut G, and provided with a tapped socket having a thread of a pitch opposite to that of the external thread. The section I is a short rod pivoted at I to the longer arm of the lever E opposite the one to which the bifurcated link F 1s pivoted, the said rod having an external thread of a pitch corresponding to that of the internal thread of the section II. The nut G and the sections H and I may be considered as forming collectively one of the toggle links, the jointed connection afforded by the ivot screws J between the nut and the biurcated link, enabling the two toggle links or members to be moved into and out of alinement with each other. The nut G and the screw-threaded link sections H and I enable the link formed by said parts to be adjusted in length to vary the throw of the toggle when it is set, and the degree of pressure of the shorter arms of the levers E against the abutment A, and therefore the degree of pressure of the cover against its seat. The section II is preferably provided with a slot H in its outer end to permit the application of a screw driver to said section for the purpose of adjusting the link of which it forms a part. G represents a handle formed on or attached to the nut Gr, said handle being preferably ring sha ed, and adapted to be en aged convenient y by the operators finger or convenience in operating the toggle.

It will be seen that when the toggle is broken by the movement of its links out of alinement with each other, as shown in Fig. 1, the cover may readily be raised from its seat and removed from the hand-hole frame, the shorter arms of the levers E being free to swing inwardly far enough to clear the abutment A. When the cover is replaced on its seat, the setting of the toggle by the movement of the links to a position of substantial alinement with each other, causes a secure engagement between the cover and the frame, and a tight joint between the cover and its seat. When the toggle is thus set, the centers of the pivot screws J are carried slightly across a line drawn between the centers of the pivots F and I, so that the toggle remains in its set position until sufficient force is applied to break the toggle. The cover is therefore securely and tightly held against the possibility of accidental removal and at the same time it is adapted to be readily released and removed without the use of tools.

The abutment A is preferably formed by the inner end of the section A, and therefore extends continuously around the interior of the frame. It is obvious, however, that only those portions of the abutment which are engaged by the shorter arms of the levers E, are operative,consequently the device may be said to have a plurality of abutments corresponding with the number of levers.

The bell crank or angular form of the levers E and the arrangement of the levers shown in Fig. 1, whereby their longer arms extend substantially parallel with each other, provide sufiicient space between the longer arms for the toggle and the handle G which operates it, the entire space between the longer arms being available for this purpose, so that the links of the toggle may be made of sufficient length to insure ease of operation in looking the cover.

WVe claim:

1. An appliance of the character stated, comprising a hand-hole frame having a cover seat and an internal abutment opposed to the seat, a cover formed to bear on the seat, bell crank levers fulcrumed on the cover and having shorter arms adapted to engage the abutment, and longer arms extending from the shorter arms toward the cover, and means between the longer arms for forcing the longer arms outwardly from the center of the cover, to engage the shorter arms with the abutment, said means having provisions for locking the levers in their abutment-engaging positions.

2. An appliance of the character stated, comprising a hand-hole frame having a cover seat and an internal abutment opposed to the seat, a cover formed to bear on the seat, bell crank levers fulcrumed on the cover and having shorter arms adapted to engage the abutment, and longer arms extending from the shorter arms toward the cover, and a toggle engaged with the outer ends of the longer arms and adapted to force said arms outwardly from the center of the cover, said toggle, when extended, locking the levers in their abutment-engaging positions.

3. An appliance of the character stated, comprising a hand-hole frame having a cover seat and an internal abutment opposed to said seat, a cover formed to bear on the seat, levers fulcrumed on the cover, and having shorter arms adapted to engage the abutment, and longer arms extending from the shorter arms toward the cover, a toggle engaged with the outer ends of the longer arms and adapted to force said arms outwardly from the center of the cover, said toggle, when extended, locking the levers in their abutment-engaging positions, and a handle carried by said toggle whereby force may be applied to extend and contract the toggle.

4. An appliance of the character stated, comprising a hand-hole frame having a cover seat and an internal abutment opposed to said seat, a cover formed to bear on the seat, levers fulcrumed on the cover and having shorter arms adapted to engage the abutment, and longer arms extending from the shorter arms toward the cover, and a toggle composed of links jointed together and to the outer ends of the longer arms, and adapted seat and an internal abutment opposed to said seat, a cover formed to bear on the seat, levers fulcrumed on the cover, and having outer and inner arms, and a toggle composed of a bifurcated link jointed to one of the levers, a nut jointed to the arms of the bifurcated link, and an adjustable link composed of an outer section jointed to the other lever, and an inner section having a screw thread engaged with the nut, the inner section being independently rotatable to vary the length of the link.

In testimony whereof we sign our names in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN BUCKLEY. JOSEPH W. BUCKLEY. Witnesses:

TI-IoMAs P. COSTANZA, DANIEL HOLLAND. 

